“While the governor’s proposed budget does not include revenue from natural gas permitting or extraction, we anticipate that his stated commitment to job creation and business development will soon acknowledge the role that future oil and natural gas development will play in achieving these goals.

Our members – many of whom are well-regarded scientists, geologists and engineers – will continue to support the state’s thorough analysis. Based on the timeline outlined by Commissioner Martens, we look forward to the state considering the impact of new revenues stemming from the exploration of New York’s natural gas reserves.”

From Robert J. Reidy, Jr., executive director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents:

“Last month, Governor Cuomo demonstrated strong leadership in assuring the state would have revenue to follow through on an $805 million increase in School Aid, as promised in the two-year appropriation enacted last year. The aid proposal he presented today would provide schools with the best starting point they have had in recent years.

“The Governor is right to prioritize helping high need districts, but we would like see more of the increase for all districts targeted to general operating aid.

“The Governor is also right that New York cannot afford to lose $1 billion in federal education funds because of a stalemate over new evaluation procedures. Superintendents have done their best to implement a law which the Governor has said, “was destined to fail.” Without a better state framework, threatening districts with a loss of aid will not produce better evaluations.

“We welcome the Governor’s ‘Tier VI’ proposal on pensions. For most of the past decade, surging pension and health care costs have forced school leaders to make hard choices between cutting programs or asking voters to approve local tax increases. Now, with the tax cap, there will be only one choice, unless the state acts to help restrain those costs.

“We look forward to working with the Governor, Assembly and Senate to assure that schools get a budget and mandate relief that allows schools to give students the best learning opportunities we can.”

From Mike Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition:

Governor Cuomo’s budget is mostly on the right track in terms of job creation and effective use of government resources for essential services. And the budget has breathing room because of last year’s dramatic progress on tax fairness and the Millionaires Tax.

But the Governor is missing an opportunity to close over a billion dollars in corporate tax loopholes – losing resources our state needs and treading water on the corporate accountability New Yorkers are demanding.

Before thinking about cuts to working and low-income New Yorkers, Albany lawmakers should enforce tax laws and close corporate loopholes exploited by big banks, multinational corporations and wealthy real estate investors.

It’s also clear that we can and should do more for the poorest New Yorkers, particularly with poverty, child poverty and homelessness at modern highs.

We urge the Governor and the Legislature to work together to close over a billion dollars in corporate tax loopholes and invest a portion of the money into survival services, housing and targeted job creation for the long-term unemployed and people on public assistance.

New York needs a head start on real corporate tax reform as part of this year’s budget: the money raised can and should be used effectively to reduce poverty, unemployment and homelessness, and a fairer corporate tax system would further increase public trust in effective government.

From Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos:

I am very encouraged that the Governor has again proposed a budget that closes the deficit by reducing spending and without increasing taxes or fees, and includes plans for job creation, property tax relief and other reforms to make sure tax dollars are spent wisely. These are long held priorities of the Senate Republican conference.

The Governor has advanced a number of innovative reforms and made it clear that we need to reform Medicaid and the pension system to ease these costly burdens on local governments and property taxpayers.

We must resolve the issue of teacher evaluations to ensure that New York schools can receive more than $1 billion in state and federal aid to
improve the education for our children. Last year the Senate acted on school accountability reforms in order to ensure that students have the best teachers in the classroom. This year we look forward to working with the Governor and Assembly to get it done.

Our conference will review and discuss the details of the Governor’s budget plan as well as additional measures to cut taxes and reduce the cost of doing business in New York State . I am confident we can once again pass an early and fiscally responsible budget that protects taxpayers and helps create new jobs.

Here’s the statement from New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA).

“By serving the public in one of the most difficult and dangerous jobs in New York State, NYSCOPBA members are on the front line of public safety everyday. And as we have argued for months, the system is at a breaking point.

“For that reason, we commend Governor Andrew Cuomo for acknowledging the difficult and dangerous work of the men and women of NYSCOPBA. In the budget he proposed today, Governor Cuomo is holding harmless the corrections officers who serve without complaint, and have never asked for special treatment.

“However, we do not support Governor Cuomo’s efforts to devalue the earned benefits of NYSCOPBA members with yet another new pension tier. We urge the legislature to reject this effort. Our members earn these benefits, and the Cuomo Administration must recognize that shifting the burden to those New Yorkers who can least afford it is an unfair and shortsighted policy.”

From the Empire State Pride Agenda.

“The Governor’s proposed budget is a mixed bag for LGBT New Yorkers and our families,” said Ross D. Levi, Executive Director of the Pride Agenda. “In these tight economic times, the continued allocation of funds for the New York State LGBT Health and Human Services Network is a victory. Yet the victory is incomplete due to tepid action taken on the budget line dedicated to serve runaway and homeless LGBT youth.”

46 of the organizations from across New York State that provide care designed to meet the unique needs of the LGBT community have received $5.26 million through the New York State LGBT Health and Human Services Network. The Pride Agenda serves a critical role as the Network’s daily administrator and chief advocate with government.

In another closely watched development, the Governor proposed that the funds for runaway and homeless youth, the vast majority of whom at [sic] LGBT, remain at current levels even though funding has been drastically reduced during prior years.

“The Pride Agenda is concerned that the Governor’s office has failed to adequately address the crisis of LGBT runaway and homeless youth. The need for support for runaway and homeless youth has only grown as the options for safe and supportive housing have diminished,” said Levi. “We are committed to continue working with the Governor’s office and the state legislature to find a way to help these young people, many of who are left with no option but to live on the streets.”

From TEACH NYS, the Educational Alliance for Children in New York State.

“TEACH-NYS greatly appreciates that the Governor’s new 2012-13 Executive Budget proposes to fully fund Mandated Services reimbursement (MSR) to non-public schools, a $13 million (17%) increase to $90 million. These funds will be used to reimburse non-public schools for their expense in complying with State-mandated MSR services during the current school year. TEACH-NYS, together with UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Education Project, had recently written to the Governor asking for just such a provision, and we are grateful for his responsiveness.

“Last month’s MTA Payroll Tax exemption helped restore a measure of fairness for non-public schools. This was an important step toward alleviating the added burden facing non-public schools, their parents and children. Credit for that goes to the Governor for his leadership, and to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Majority Leader Dean Skelos. In that same spirit, we encourage the Senate and Assembly to support the MSR provision in the new Executive Budget.

“By proposing to fully fund the MSR reimbursement at the level the New York State Education Department (NYSED) acknowledges it owes to non-public schools, the Governor is now going a step further. We are hopeful that additional measures will be introduced to begin paying back the shortfall from previous years, and also to bring reimbursements for the Comprehensive Attendance Policy (CAP) more in line with schools’ actual cost of complying with CAP – a difference of $34 million over the current $26 million for CAP ($60 million total). “There is a range of opportunities to bring the State into fuller compliance with its obligations to all of its students, including those in non-public schools. This year, fully funding the reimbursement for Mandated Services is that critical first step.”

From the American Cancer Society of NY & NJ.

“Gov. Cuomo properly diagnoses cancer issues as a priority, but initial review shows some of his recommended therapies may be too weak. While we are encouraged that language creating a health insurance exchange was included and that funding for cancer screenings for the uninsured was maintained, the state’s anti-tobacco program remains woefully underfunded, given the billions in NYS revenue from tobacco.

But it’s not too late to dedicate the funding necessary to combat the devastation caused by tobacco. The American Cancer Society urges the Gov. and lawmakers to work together to increase funding for anti-tobacco programming in the 2012-2013 NYS budget.”

American Cancer Society budget recommendations:

Tobacco Prevention-The governor proposed a $5 million cut for the NYS Tobacco Control Program. Despite the fact that the state raises more than $2 billion in tobacco revenues, this program has been cut in half over the past three years and additional cuts will mean less help for smokers trying to quit. The governor proposes taxing loose tobacco at the same rate as cigarettes, bringing in an addition $18 million that could be spent on anti-tobacco programs.

Health Insurance Exchange-The governor proposes the creation of a health insurance exchange to offer health insurance to New York’s nearly 3 million uninsured, as well as to small businesses. His proposal establishes a governing board that is not guaranteed to be free of conflicts of interest. No one serving on the board should work for interests that may have a financial stake in the exchange.

NYS Cancer Services Program-The governor proposes funding for the New York State Cancer Services Program at $26.7 million, the same level as last year. This lifesaving program provides free breast, cervical and colon cancer screening to the uninsured and underinsured. Lawmakers should follow the governor’s lead.

From the Empire Center for New York State Policy.

This just in: Governor Cuomo’s 2012-13 Executive Budget has been posted online, and it does, indeed, include a defined-contribution (DC) retirement plan option.

Last year, the Governor proposed a “Tier 6” pension plan that simply made adjustments to the existing defined-benefit (DB) pension system — raising retirement ages, extending the vesting period, boosting employee contributions, curbing use of overtime to pad pensions.

Today’s proposal is a big improvement.

On the DB side of the ledger, a key modification to the original proposal is a “variable ‘risk/reward’ system under which employee contributions would decrease or increase, within limits, tied to economic conditions.” In addition, the new DB system would feature staggered schedule of employee contributions, ranging from 3 percent to 6 percent depending on salary level, with higher salaries paying more.

The “voluntary” DC plan would include a minimum employer contribution of 4 percent, which could increase to a maximum of 7 percent if the employee matches with a 3 percent contribution, bringing potential annual retirement savings to 11 percent. This, the Budget Message notes, would “offer a portability and (early) vesting feature not available with defined-benefit options.”

More details are to be found in Part H of this bill. Or, if you prefer, the bill memo.

Suffice to say, it’s a very big deal that Cuomo has put the DC concept on the table. The new “risk-reward” component of his DB reform is also noteworthy, because it gets at the heart of the problem — the one-sided assumption of financial risk by taxpayers.

From the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York.

“The budget proposal released today by Governor Cuomo omits critical legal reforms that would both reduce state Medicaid spending and provide meaningful mandate relief. These reforms would help generate millions in revenue, save our state and municipalities crucial tax dollars, and generate jobs and economic growth.

We applaud the Governor’s creation of a Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) and the Mandate Relief Council. However, the Medical Liability Reform Workgroup of the MRT deadlocked and failed to deliver the cost-saving recommendation of non-economic damage caps which the committee, and the Governor, supported last year. As the state begins to take a larger share of local Medicaid expenses, these reforms become more critical to the state’s financial health.

We are hopeful that the Mandate Relief Council will be more successful and support reforms to provide jobs, cost-savings and economic development to our local communities. These reforms include:

Scaffold Law Reform – The notorious “Only-in-New York” absolute liability standard drives up the cost of public projects and exposes our municipalities to large legal settlements even if they were not at fault. Reform will lower the cost of the Governor’s proposed infrastructure investments, freeing up money for more jobs and more economic development.

Fair Share Liability – Municipalities are often roped into lawsuits because if they can be found 1% responsible, they can be forced to pay 100% of the judgment. New York should implement a pure comparative negligence – or “fair share” liability standard for all civil actions.

Non-Economic Damage Cap – Massive pain and suffering judgments drive up the cost of healthcare for all New Yorkers and are driving medical professionals from our state. Many studies have predicted that reform will generate millions of dollars in revenues for New York’s cash-strapped budget while improving the availability and cost of health care for all New Yorkers.

These simple reforms provide real mandate relief at no cost to taxpayers. We urge the Governor and the Mandate Relief Council to support their immediate passage.”

From the Council of Senior Centers and Services.

Seniors across the city breathed a sigh of relief to learn that Governor Andrew Cuomo did not propose a cut to Title XX funding that would close 105 NYC senior centers depriving upwards of 10,000 seniors of their local senior center beginning in April, 2012. There would be 2.5 million less meals provided to seniors each year. Seniors would be at-risk for social isolation that could accelerate physical and mental deterioration at a time the state is working hard to save health care dollars.

A massive letter writing campaign, led by the Council of Senior Centers and Services (CSCS) culminated in a remarkable 16,642 letters from seniors – in English, Spanish and Chinese – urging Governor Cuomo not to propose cutting Title XX again. Letters of support to keep the funding intact came from state Assemblymembers and Senators as well as City Councilmembers. The Bloomberg administration also supports keeping the funding as is. For a list of the 105 senior centers that would close, copies of the letters, Title XX fact sheet and other information, go to www.cscs-ny.org

Initially proposed under Governor Paterson, this would have been the third consecutive year this cut was proposed. Each year, thousands of seniors are terrified, angry and exhausted from having to fight again to keep their beloved senior centers open. Each year, there is bipartisan support to restore the approximately $25 million needed to keep all the centers open. Seniors grew tired of the annual budget dance and are now dancing for joy in their senior centers.

Igal Jellinek, Executive Director, CSCS, “On behalf of the 10,000 seniors who were anxious to see if their senior center would be on the hit list due to a proposed Title XX cut again, we are thrilled and appreciative that Governor Cuomo did not include this cut again in his budget. The 16,642 letters sent by seniors to Governor Cuomo opposing a cut clearly portray the vital importance senior centers play in the lives of thousands of older New Yorkers. Thank you, Governor Cuomo.”

Senator Diane Savino, Chair, Committee on Children and Families, (Title XX flows through OCFS), stated, “I want applaud Governor Cuomo and his administration for their commitment to funding New York’s Title XX programs. As New York continues to face economic challenges we need to ensure that our senior population remains a priority and by putting the funding in the budget we are on course to just that.”

Assemblywoman Joan Millman, Chair, Committee on Aging, “On behalf of all seniors in New York City we thank Governor Cuomo for allowing Title XX funds to remain in place to run our senior centers.”

Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, Chair, Committee on Aging, ““This is wonderful news. The Governor heard our message loud and clear, and this year older New Yorkers won’t have to worry about losing their senior centers.”

Councilman David Greenfield, Chair, Subcommittee on Senior Centers, “I support the Governor’s decision to spare our seniors centers from devastating cuts, despite the extremely difficult choices he was forced to make in his proposed budget. Our senior citizens deserve our respect and access to outstanding neighborhood programs and services, and this funding is essential in allowing senior centers fill that need. Since taking office I have fought to maintain funding for senior centers, and will continue to do so whenever they are unfairly targeted for funding reductions.”

From the Alliance for Quality Education.

School Aid and Competitive Grants-“We commend Governor Cuomo for restoring $805 million in school aid; these funds will help students throughout the state. The exact distribution of these funds and how much is prioritized to high need and average need school districts will take a few days to evaluate. We are greatly concerned that almost one-third of these funds could be distributed based on competition between school districts which has the potential to create a system of educational winners and losers among our students. It is important to note that last year the state moved backwards on its commitment to quality education by enacting huge classroom cuts that resulted in larger class sizes and narrowing of the curriculum. Students need the budget to focus on restoring these classroom cuts for all, not only for those whose schools win at a competition.”

Cost Savings through Centralizing School Bus Purchasing-“Governor Cuomo has proposed a new cost savings initiative that would centralize the purchasing of school buses through a single statewide contract. This is the type of cost saving initiative from the state we need to see more of and we commend Governor Cuomo for providing the leadership to advance this type of common sense cost savings solution.”

From the New York Farm Bureau.

“The release of today’s Executive Budget represents the start of a very long journey toward a final state budget on April 1. Prior to last year, agriculture had experienced major reductions in funding. I give Governor Cuomo tremendous credit for his efforts to stabilize support for our industry since taking office. While we are still reviewing the language, I can say with confidence that this is one of the best starting points that New York agriculture has seen in a long time.

“Like last year’s budget this one reduces state spending and includes no tax increases. Taken by itself this is a major accomplishment and one that New York farmers are grateful for-but the good news doesn’t stop there.

“The Governor’s proposal for the state to begin the process of absorbing the increased costs of Medicaid and later the entire administrative function of that program is urgently needed and a step that New York Farm Bureau has long supported and advocated for. On average this one program accounts for 45% of the total property tax levy in any given county. Left unchanged, the program itself would be unsustainable and the effects on counties completely unmanageable. The Governor’s action to reduce the Medicaid burden on county governments will help to protect local agricultural funding and forestall massive property tax increases for our members in the future. Time and again our members identify the business environment in our state as their #1 concern. Real mandate relief such as the state assuming the cost and responsibilities associated with Medicaid will go a long way toward improving our business climate.

“Today’s budget appears to provide substantial funding for some important agriculture programs and provides a solid basis for us to move forward. Programs like the Wine and Grape Foundation, Pro-Dairy, Quality Milk Promotion, Farm Net and Integrated Pest Management are not just line items in the budget, they are seeds that help to grow our agricultural economy.

“I commend Governor Cuomo for addressing many of the concerns of our members in his 2012-2013 Executive Budget. I look forward to the discussions ahead and to working with the Governor and our friends in the State Senate and Assembly to ensure that the budget season finishes in April on the same positive note that it started here today.”

From the Foundation for Education Reform and Accountability.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget unveiled today “demonstrates a commitment to take on the state’s education establishment to bring about the dramatic reform needed to improve New York’s most-expensive school system in the nation,” according to the Foundation for Education Reform &Accountability, an independent statewide education-policy think tank.

Teacher Evaluations-“The entrenched local education bureaucracies have been thumbing their collective noses at the state’s teacher-evaluation law and put $1 billion in federal education funding at risk, including the state’s nearly $700 million Race to the Top grant. Gov. Cuomo is rightly using his budget proposal to insist that districts earn state aid increases by adopting meaningful teacher evaluation processes. Measuring whether students are learning from individual teachers will bring about a new – and long-needed – era of accountability in public education.”

Grants for Innovation-“For far too long, innovation has been stifled in the state’s school districts which have resorted to one-size-fits-all approaches to education, delivered unacceptably poor academic results, and relied on annual calls for more funding as a remedy for all problems. Using the lure of increased aid to stimulate a modernization and initiation of educational best-practices in our schools will provide an attractive funding source for districts open to dramatic reform.”

“Both the state and public school students would likely benefit from more state education funding shifting from an entitlement to a merit-based program.”

Education Reform Commission-“The state’s public education system has been an outrageous failure in providing a quality education to all students. Gov. Cuomo’s proposed reform commission offers a great deal of promise. Given the significant gap between where New York’s students are at and where they need to be, the commission should push the gas pedal all the way to the floor in the drive for truly transformative changes to the state’s educational system.”

From the Nature Conservancy.

“Protecting our state’s land, air and water is not only good policy for New York, it also creates jobs. Governor Andrew Cuomo deserves credit for understanding both the economic and public health value of the Environmental Protection Fund, or EPF. By maintaining funding for the EPF in yet another difficult fiscal year, Governor Cuomo has demonstrated his commitment to one of the policy priorities of The Nature Conservancy.

“Through its various programs, the Environmental Protection Fund supports more than 350,000 jobs in New York State across a broad spectrum of industries, including outdoor tourism, agriculture and protecting the drinking water for millions of New Yorkers. EPF supported industries generate approximately $40 billion for the state’s economy every year. The EPF has protected the places that Governor Cuomo seeks to promote as announced in his State of the State message, including the Adirondack and Catskill parks, New York’s wine regions, Long Island’s beaches and bays, and much more.”

“The Nature Conservancy looks forward to continuing to work with the Cuomo Administration to ensure New York remains a progressive leader in environmental policy and to grow our economy with sustainable and permanent jobs. By maintaining the EPF in this budget, and growing it in future budgets, we can ensure that the environmental initiatives that we support – including land and water protection, water quality improvement, agricultural and parkland protection, and waterfront and urban revitalization – remain critical components of a vibrant community and economy for generations to come.”

From the New Yorkers for Fiscal Fairness.

“The Governor’s ‘Smoke Em if You Got Em’ revenue generating agenda leaves much to be desired. Raising taxes on cigars and loose tobacco fall far short of a substantive loophole closing agenda especially when our current corporate tax law has more holes than swiss cheese.”

“Last week, organizations from across New York called upon the Governor to follow three simple principles when it comes to closing corporate loopholes; enforcement, transparency and fairness. New York could and should collect hundreds of million in uncollected tax revenue simply by enforcing current tax law, especially when it comes to unreported gains from Real Estate Partnerships.

“Before we cut one program for needy New Yorkers we should make sure that wealthy real estate moguls are actually paying their taxes. We must also ensure that big multi-national corporations that do business in NYS pay something in corporate taxes. Too many are avoiding paying any taxes to NYS. We need to level the playing field so that small businesses are not left ‘holding the bag’ while big businesses are allowed to avail themselves of billions of dollars in corporate tax subsidies and loopholes.”

From SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher.

“Governor Cuomo has once again proven to be SUNY’s champion. He has clearly made the improvement of our state’s education system a top priority for 2012-13, and I applaud him for doing so in what continues to be a difficult economic climate.

“By presenting an executive budget that, for the first time in recent memory, holds the line on state funding for SUNY, Governor Cuomo has kept his promise to position the state university as a world-class leader in higher education that will help to create jobs and move the dial on our state’s economic revitalization.

“This preservation of the state’s financial commitment to SUNY will allow us to better serve our students as we directly reinvest their tuition dollars in student support services and hire more full-time faculty. It also enables us to better serve New York, as curricula and initiatives on our campuses target workforce needs in every region, and the extended NY SUNY 2020 challenge grant program incentivizes our campuses to boost economic development.

“In a show of the governor’s commitment to education across the board, he maintains base operating aid not just at our four-year campuses, but also at our 30 community colleges – a recognition of the great capacity these campuses have to meet New York’s enrollment and workforce needs.

“At SUNY, we share the governor’s focus on driving efficiency and accountability. As we work to achieve these goals within our system, I look forward to working in partnership with Governor Cuomo, and with the members of the State Legislature, as they carry out this vision across the state.”